Star of Chaos
by KorvasTerindar
Summary: After a three day trek A brief rest period yeilds surprising consequences and the arrival of an unexpected ally bearing news of the Chaotix. R
1. A Discovery and No Vacation

Well Here I am in the Sonic Section. I hope that I did a good job. I haven't been into Sonic in a While (What was wrong with me?!) but now I'm back. Forgive me if a few facts are off or skewed. Please R&R

Chapter 1

It is a funny thing how the events of a long strange week can give one a headache even when your not thinking about them. That is exactly what Sonic was annoyed with. He had a severe headache from the multiple things that had happened this week and another frustrating thing was that the pain was causing him to dwell on them even more. It had started out slow; Robotnik wasn't causing trouble which was an odd thing in of itself. Knuckles had been guarding the Master Emerald on Angle Island. This wasn't a strange thing that is until he called Sonic to tell him that he had found some long lost ruins of the Echidna and these ruins had revealed some rather unwelcome news. The ruins held the entire history of the Emeralds including their prehistory. This was a passage that had been in the main hall.

_"Across the void of deepest black from which no star shines, dwells a place of dark evil. Evil beyond all beings from which shines the power of Omega, the great Star of Chaos from which the seven gems were born. From this place Omega sent forth the gems of Chaos across the void to one home, there to await the one who could unite them and open the path to Omega."_

Sonic had been troubled by this. The Gems of Chaos were originally thought to be the Chaos Emeralds but as Knuckles had continued to search it became quite clear that these were not the Gems of Chaos. They were apparently Gemstones that had been created by infusing Chaos energy from the Master Emeralds. According to this new information there where seven Master Emeralds hidden here somewhere. If any of Sonics enemies were to get there hands on all of these Emeralds the chances of victory were very low. Sonic cursed quietly to himself. He wanted to relax and he wanted his head to stop pounding. This hadn't been the only thing that had happened this week.

Tails had managed to kick his courage in high gear and had asked Amy's friend Cream out. This had been a very funny event. They had always been friendly to each other but this had been rather surprising to everyone. Her reaction had been a very odd but funny mixture of emotions. She had gaped in surprise, then giggled, then started crying for some unknown reason. Tails had wisely left her be because a few seconds later she had began throwing things. They had later learned that Tails had asked her at a bad time, she had apparently had a very bad week. Amy had told them that Cream had accepted to go out with him Tails had hoped to be told this alone and it was amusing to see him blush such a deep shade of scarlet. His face had been literally glowing red with embarrassment. They still hadn't set a date but this was his business not Sonic's so he thought of something else. Shadow had contacted Sonic for information on the Oil Ocean and Sonic had (after some hesitance) told him all he knew.

Apparently satisfied Shadow had left without another word, Sonic had wondered what that had been about but didn't want to dwell on that because it would cause his head to hurt harder. He stretched out on the beach chair that he was laying on. He was tired of thinking on these things; he wanted to have a relaxing break without having his head throbbing as if he had been banging his head against a wall. He looked out on the sea that was gently smacking against the shore, Amy had once told him that swimming could be very relaxing but he had never learned how to swim. He hated the water though when the need arose he'd get through it in the end. He sat up and thought of other things that relaxed him; there was running always there was running, he loved running more than anything else but even he had his on limits on stamina.

He wanted to relax but he also wanted to lounge. He came to a decision; he would run until he was worn down a little though this would take awhile but he didn't mind. He stood and looked off into the distance; He and Tails were staying at a hotel on a beach in New Metropolis. This city was a resort city and the hotel in which they were staying was owned by an old couple that Sonic had saved a few years back. He saw that there was beach and fields running for miles on his left; canyons and prairies on the right. The left path looked calming but the right path seemed more likely to keep him on his toes with the twisting landscape and sudden drops. He stretched again and began running to the right gaining speed until he came to steady sixty miles per hour.

He suddenly shot off charging for the nearest loop, he cleared it easily and began following a very difficult path at break neck speed. Unknown to Sonic there stood a hooded figure with glowing red eyes standing on a ridge over a mile on Sonics right. He stared unblinkingly at the fast moving blue blur, and said,  
"Target: Sonic the Hedgehog,  
Threat Level Assessment: None.  
Current Objective: Observe.  
Mission Successes Probability: One Hundred Percent.  
Companion Assessment:  
Miles Prower: Critical weakness found,  
Amy Rose: Critical Weakness Known  
Knuckles the Echidna: No Probable Weakness Threat Level: Mid Level,  
Shadow the Hedgehog: Neutral No friendly ties to target."

He continued to watch Sonic until he noticed that he had changed direction and was now heading directly for him. The figure turned and left the ridge just as Sonic came within sight of the cliff. Sonic could have sworn he saw someone standing on that cliff, the cloak had looked familiar but it couldn't be him. He had been destroyed in the last encounter so how could he be here. Sonic shook himself and thought that it probably would be best to be safe; Robotnik had made thousands of minor models and it wouldn't take much to make it into a far worse enemy. Thinking that because the chance was there and since Sonic knew that he was hostile towards him Sonic felt that it would probably be a good idea to head back.

He turned and ran back towards the hotel that was only just in sight from this point. Sonic came to a skidding halt in front of the Hotels back door less than a minute later and saw that Knuckles had just arrived. Knuckles walked over to Sonic and asked without any real interest, "Have a good run?" Sonic nodded but knew that Knuckles wasn't interested. He always wasn't when he was preoccupied, Knuckles decided to skip to the point. He reached into a bag and pulled out the Chaos Emeralds and handed them to Sonic while saying, "Take a look at these and tell me what you see." Sonic took them and felt the familiar power within them; He looked at them but didn't see anything different about them.

He looked at Knuckles and said, "I don't see anything different," Knuckles looked at him and said, "They are brighter than usual, they are glowing brighter." Sonic looked back at the emeralds and did notice this time that they were indeed glowing (if only by a little) brighter, He asked Knuckles, "Why are they doing this? What does it mean?" Knuckles looked around checking for eavesdroppers and then answered, "I have the information that we need to find the other Master Emeralds, but I'll tell you when were inside and when Tails has joined us. I feel that I also must be the first to tell you that the first Master Emerald was stolen by…." Sonic cut across him and gave the rest of the sentence and hating the answer at the same time, "Metal Sonic." Knuckles nodded and said, "If he has the Master Emerald and knows of the existence of the others then we have a big problem on our hands." Sonic nodded and thought quietly to himself, "Great, I don't get to have my vacation after all."

Please R&R and no Flames


	2. A Massage and A Misunderstanding

Okay here is Chapter 2 Please R&R. Take it easy on me if you choose to R&R I don't respond well to negitivity. I can handle constructive critisim. Okay Enjoy.

Chapter 2

Sonic and Knuckles entered the lobby of the hotel. They had talked on the stairs of the hotel for about an hour before they reached the dangerous matter of the Seven Master Emeralds. Sonic walked up the marble stairs in silence trying not to be critical of how Knuckles had once again lost the Master Emerald. Knuckles meanwhile was trying to digest the fact that Tails had gone out with Cream earlier this morning and had been gone most of the day. He had known that Tails had liked Cream but had never pinned him as the sort of guy to go out on a date. Tails was kind and energetic with the mind of a genius and inventing skills that could rival Robotnik. Cream's reaction to being asked out had amused Knuckles slightly but he felt that it was something she needed. Her best friend, a Chao by the name of Cheese, had been captured and robotized in their last encounter with Robotnik.

Unfortunately he had destroyed the only means of reversing the effects so it had become permanent for the time being. Tails had taken it upon himself to find a way of reversing the robotization process but had so far had no success; he had said that they needed an enormous amount of Chaos energy to reverse the effect and the only really large source of continuous Chaos energy that they had known about was the Master Emerald which Knuckles had refused to let them have. They reached the suite that Sonic had been given by the kind old owners of the hotel and they went in to wait for Tails to get back. He couldn't be gone much longer they had been gone most of the day and though there was much to do in this city there was no way that it could all be done and enjoyed in one day.

After about an hour of waiting for him to show up both Sonic and Knuckles were getting tired of waiting and decided to use the personal exercise room in Sonic's suite to break up the boredom of waiting for Tails. Knuckles of course decided to use the punching bag that had been fastened to the ceiling by titanium directly to a steel support beam. Sonic meanwhile used the custom made treadmill designed to keep up with speeds of around Mach 9. Another hour later they heard the door to the room next door open and then shut. Knuckles heard it first and continued pounding away at the punching bag assuming that since it was Tails' room he'd be over in a second.

Meanwhile in Tails' Room.  
"I had a really good time tonight, the best I've had since…well anyway thanks for taking me out," Cream said as she entered the room. Tails looked slightly crestfallen he too had had a very good time that day and now that she had nearly brought the subject of her friend he felt a squirm of guilt. He had tried but now having spent over ten hours with her he felt as if he hadn't tried hard enough. She was looking at his laptop which he had built himself a reminder of just how smart he was. It had twelve hard drives each one with space equivalent to the Old Metropolis' main central computer. It was an immensely powerful computer that he took with him nearly everywhere. She straightened up and let out a groan of pain as she grabbed her neck.

Tails went over to her and inquired to her what was wrong. She said while trying to massage her neck, "Oh it's nothing I have been upsetting myself into knots lately. I'll just go down to the Spa and get the massaged out." Tails looked at her and said, "Why didn't you ask me?" She looked slightly amused as she asked, "Do you have any experience in being a masseur or even know how?" Tails looked sheepish as he responded, "Well no I haven't ever done it but I have read about it and I am pretty good with my hands, you want to be my first customer?" She laughed and said cheerfully, "Sure why not? If it beings to hurt then I'll say so and you can stop and I'll go get a proper massage."

She went over to his bed and laid down on it so her back was to the ceiling. Tails remembered what to do and from what he read it wasn't hard. He just needed to be firm and careful when he was kneading the mussels and to rub at the mussels on occasion so as to prevent tensing, causing more pain and further knotting. Tails had a optional photographic memory and remembered in detail the thing that he thought would be helpful in the future and this was one of these things. He started with her neck knowing how neck pains felt when he remembered the times in which he kept his neck bent over while working. After about ten minutes he had proceeded to her upper back.

Back in Sonic's Room.

Knuckles stood in the kitchen. He stood there rooted to the spot in shock. He knew now for sure that Tails was in his room. He had come into the kitchen to get a bottle of water and upon hear a very distinct noise from the other room had sprayed his first mouthful of water all over the wall. The sounds made his face go a deeper red than usual with disbelieve, shock, and not a little bit of confusion. He couldn't believe that Tails would even consider doing anything like that at all. It was moaning, he was certain of it.

Sonic came in and saw Knuckles standing in the middle of the room looking appalled at the wall. Sonic looked at the wall and it wasn't until he went three feet closer did he catch the noises coming the other side and his mouth fell open too. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, this was impossible, Tails could not be doing that. Knuckles asked in a stiff voice, "Do you want me to hit a whole in the wall." Sonic shook his head as he head to the door and said, "No we're going to stop him."

Back in Tails' Room.

Cream had removed her shirt to allow Tails to work on her back with greater ease. He had unknotted her shoulders, neck, and all but her lower back and she had moaned with relief and pleasure as he be rid her of particularly painful knots. He started on her lower back the part of her that hurt the most and within a couple minutes he had undone those knots and she let out a loud grateful moan and fell asleep as Tails continued to massage her. After another five minutes he stopped noticing that his hands hurt. How long had he been helping her? He checked his watch and saw that he had been massaging her for nearly an hour. He felt a little guilty about missing the appointed time for the meeting with Sonic and Knuckles.

He heard a knock on the door and went to open it. As soon as the door was open and Tails saw that it was Knuckles and Sonic but before he had said 'Hello' or 'Sorry' Knuckles grabbed a fistful of Tails chest fur and slammed him against the closet door. Sonic came in and inspected the scene in the room as Tails struggled soundlessly with Knuckles. Cream was asleep on Tails' bed not wearing her shirt and it seemed to Sonic to explain everything. He turned to Tails and hissed, "I can't believe you did that!" Tails (who's face was turning blue from the pressure Knuckles was applying against him) looked at Sonic in hurt and confusion. Sonic looked at Knuckles who released Tails. Tails fell to the floor and gasped for air and managed to gasp out, "What….talking….about!?" Sonic said while motioning to the sleeping Cream, "You know what I'm talking about. If your genius mind can't get what I'm saying then I'll say it slowly and to the point; I'm not babysitting!"

Tails's face went crimson as he got quickly to his feet and said in great indignation, "Do you honestly think I'd do that, how can you think that I'd do something like that!?" Sonic looked at Tails and asked, "If you weren't doing that then explain the moaning." Tails looked defiant as he said, "I was giving her a massage. She had upset herself into very painful knots and I was relieving her of them." Sonic looked skeptical but Knuckles for once looked ashamed of himself. Sonic soon remembered that Tails had never once lied to him and it was always for that reason that he had trusted him always. He too looked sorry and said in a quite voice, "Tails, I am sorry for what we did. We should have believed you. I am sorry." Tails softened himself and said, "It's okay, forget about it." Sonic smiled at him and together they left the room with Knuckles behind them who shut the door quietly.

Sonic realized that Tails had grown up. But in spite of this Sonic knew that no matter what choices either of them made and no matter distant they seemed the unbreakable bond that they had formed over the years would never fade. He would look after Tails until the day he died; Just as he knew Tails would do for him.


	3. Making Amends

Okay heres number three. I did a good job on this one so Please R&R.

Chapter Three

Sonic had ordered room service as he and his friends sat in a silent vigil trying to think of where the remaining six Hidden Master Emeralds might lay. So far none of them had come up with any thing. Sonic eventually suggested after over an hour of silence that one might be hidden in the Sand Temple located in Sandopolis. Knuckles flattened the idea by revealing to Sonic that shortly after their first combined attempt to defeat Robotnik that had had found every last secret place inside the temple and that it now was completely empty of all valuable artifacts.

Sonic looked annoyed but recovered as he thought of one other place that one might be hidden. In one of his past adventures he had seen a cave reflected in a pool of water inside of the Quartz Mines, it turned out to be an illusion. Since he had been preoccupied and a lot younger he hadn't given much thought but now that he thought back he considered the possibility that it hadn't been reflected on the outside of the water but in it. It could have been lost from view because of the angle at which he had seen it when he came near the waters edge.

He ran the idea by Knuckles who sat silent as Sonic told him of his thoughts seemed to grow more and more agitated with every word he spoke. When Sonic finished Knuckles looked at him and said, "It's a good idea but there is a serious flaw in this plan, the Quartz Mine collapsed over two years ago, so even if it was there we'd have a job just getting to it let alone getting it out." Sonic was slightly downcast by this and for a long while they sat in silence but none of them had the least bit of luck in coming up with a fresh idea of wear they could be.

Suddenly after about ten minutes there came a know on the door and someone called through the door, "Room Service". Sonic got up and answered the door and assisted the caterer bring the food into the suite. After it had been settled on the coffee table, Sonic tipped the caterer as he left the room shutting the door behind him. The smell of his favorite food, Chili Dogs, made his empty stomach growl menacingly and he had an urge to end the meeting now and eat until he was uncomfortably full. They had all ordered their favorites and none of them not even Tails (who had been on a date for over nine hours) had eaten anything.

They set to there food hungrily and within 5 seconds of his first bite he realized something was amiss. It was mouthwatering; the best he'd had in years, if didn't know any better he'd say that his own uncle had made this but that was impossible, His uncle was living in Metropolis city which was several days away. The only others in the entire world who knew how to make it the way he liked it and actually get it right was his Uncle, Amy, and Tails. He knew that Tails hadn't done it, his Uncle most certainly hadn't and Amy….

Was it possible that she had made this for him? He felt something inside him; it was a somewhat joyful feeling that none the less unnerved him. He looked around the try and eventually found what looked like a card tucked away underneath the tray. He pulled it out and flipped it open. It was a card and it was addressed to him it said,

Happy Birthday Sonic,

I made this especially for you even if you don't want to be together that doesn't stop me from being the only one who remembered your birthday. I hope you enjoy your diner.

Amy.

P.s. I got you a present as well if you want it. I am in room 481.

Sonic felt guilty, not more than four days ago he had become very harsh on her for constantly following him and hinting on marriage he had become so sick of it that he had bellowed himself hoarse before running away leaving her in tears. He stood up making his mind up on the spot and picking his plate up he left without a word to Either Knuckles or Tails. They asked him what he was doing but he ignored them, he wasn't trying to be mean but he couldn't bear his guilt.

Knuckles looked at Sonic's back as the door closed with a snap and with his eyes still on the door he asked, "What was that about?" Tails shrugged and said, "I don't know its not like him to walk out of something like this without an explanation" Tails looked at the table and saw the birthday card on the table. He picked it up and read the brief message in it. As soon as he finished reading he felt rather guilty, he had forgotten in the excitement of his first date and Knuckles had obviously forgotten in the furor of losing the Master Emerald.

He showed the card to Knuckles who upon reading it also showed an expression of guilt he looked at the door and said, "I don't think our forgetting his birthday is the reason he left," both looked back at the card, right at the name signed at the bottom. Sonic walked down the hall at a brisk pace until he came to the door to the stairwell, The elevator would of course been a quicker way down but his mind was still in unease had he taken it the chance for his mind to deceive him would have proved to great and he would have returned to his room.

With every step he took his step he made, with every flight of stairs he came closer to his destination. He was nervous, it was a natural thing, his mind set on making amends though his body lacked the will he would force himself down the path if need be. He had hurt her so badly with his loss of temper. He stopped on the landing to the tenth floor, silently he asked himself, "Have I any right to even speak to her again?" She had long loved him and all she had ever wanted was to be closer to him, to be his. In a few minutes he had destroyed a kind gentle girl whose intentions had always been for him.

He felt hot boiling guilt deep inside him, a sickening feeling that he felt he dissevered. He continued down one more flight of stairs wanting nothing more than make sure that her cheerful smile was once again upon her face. He was Amy's hero, her savior…her love, he knew it…he always had. He didn't want to follow the path that she longed to take with him, of life, love, and family. He opened the door to the ninth floor and he walked door the hall in a haze that made all else seem like an unimportant blur. It seemed forever when he finally came to the room in which she waited in misery for his appearance. Holding his breath he knocked on the door and said, "Amy…Its me."

He heard movement on the other side of the door as she got up slowly to answer it. The door cracked open slowly and Amy's beautiful blue eye appeared around the door. She looked at him then sighed as she opened the door all the way. She looked at his as she asked in a determinedly expressionless voice, "What do you want?" "Oh but of course," she said as caught sight of the plate of food in his left hand, "You want your present, come in then," she finished as she stood aside to let him in. He walked over the threshold and went into the living room to sit down and prepare himself for what he was about to do.

Amy came into the room having already shut and (although Sonic didn't know it) locked it. He looked her in surprise. She had let her appearance go he was amazed that he hadn't noticed it before now. Her quills were greasy no longer sleek and shiny, her dress looked as thought hadn't been washed in awhile and she hadn't bothered to clean the smudged and smeared makeup that was on her face. She looked at him and finally said, "So I suppose you want your present now?" She looked away from him, her voice was unnaturally stiff and Sonic felt sure that she was trying not to betray her sorrow or anger spill out from her. Sonic looked at her and said, "Amy. Will you please look at me? I have something to tell you."

She stopped moving and said nothing. He tried to find the words to tell her what he was feeling, about the burning guilt, his desire to see her happy and of the immense weight that lay heavy on his heart and mind. He cleared his throat and said, "Amy, I am sorry for what I said the other day." She snorted but didn't say anything in reply he assumed that she was letting him speak his bit before she spoke so he continued. "Amy I was just…well hot headed and I didn't mean a word of what I said." She began to walk away shaking her head as she walked on towards the closet.

It came over him before he could stop himself. In a few strides he was at her side and had grabbed her arm, "Amy please, I'm sorry for what I said, I didn't mean a word of it, please you must believe me." Amy turned to him with tears in her eyes and said in a choked voice as she pounded a fist against his chest "You did! I know you meant every word and there's no use trying to tell me you meant otherwise!" Her words cut him deeply and he tried to talk to her but such was her grief and sorrow that she wouldn't listen to him. She continued to pound his chest as tears streamed hot and wet down her cheeks adding further mess to her appearance. She shouted to him as she sobbed harder, "I loved you, all I ever wanted was to be with you, to be happy and loved!"

She looked him in the eyes and said finally as her voice cracked from the effort of fighting back her tears, "I see now that I never meant anything to you, that's all I am isn't it, a hindrance to you aren't I?! An inconvenient part of your live!" Sonic grabbed both her shoulders as her sobs made her voice incapable of any speech and as he held her in place so as to prevent her running he said, "No! None of it is true in the least. I can't deny that we have had problems but you are none of the things you called yourself. I can't bear the idea of what life would be if you weren't in it. It would be nothing" She looked at him and said, "If I ever meant that much to you then you would never had any of those things."

She sobbed more and Sonic finally made a choice, as she cried he said, "Amy, know this You mean a lot to me, I care about you." He stared at her, she was so beautiful despite the tears rolling down her face and her puffy red eyes, he looked at her and felt the desire to take her into his arms, to share his love and warmth. He came closer to her as he said, "No…I don't care about you." She looked hurt before he said the three words she had always wanted to hear him say, "I love you."

She sobbed with a mixture of joy and sorrow as he gently put his lips to hers in a kiss she thought would only happen in her dreams. They stood there in a moment that seemed to go on for eternity. What did the worries of the world mean to them? She wrapped her arms around her hero, her love, never wanting to let him go wanting the moment to go on. She let her imagination move on through infinity the stars seemed to shine brighter as their souls seemed to bind tighter to each other, ensuring the silent promise that they would always be together no matter how far the world pushed them. But like all of the world's greatest moments it was not to last they broke apart and the moment of pleasure ended but was not forgotten.

She rested her head on his shoulders as the desire to give and receive more grew in her heart while Sonic held her close to him, gently stroking her hair. After a few minutes she looked at him and said, "I think I believe you now." He chuckled to himself and said, "Yeah I am pretty sure that it'd be hard not to after that. She laughed softly and went over to the closet, as she opened the closet and pulled down a small box wrapped in blue wrapping paper Sonic had a rather cheeky idea. He walked to her and said, "You know, I think you need to change and bathe I'll go down to the lobby and get a new dress for you."

She looked at him with mock indignation and said, "Its your fault but I think your right, she handed him the box with a kiss and head off to the bathroom. Sonic Put the box down and left the room. He had every intension of get her a new outfit. As soon as he was in the hall he went turbo and flew down the hall. While he had been telling her that she needed to change and wash he had checked her dress size. He was in the lobby within a minute. He headed over to the clothing store.

He looked through the shelves before he found the perfect dress. It was made of pink satin that was thigh high and was very beautiful. It came as a set, it also had white silk stockings with white leather heels. He took it to the counter asking, "Can this be wrapped," the clerk smiled and said, "Yes it can it'll be done in five minutes" Sonic paid for the dress and looked around as it was being wrapped. When the clerk finally handed it over to him he noticed something in the adjacent store. He went to look closer and saw that it was a beautifully carved rose pink diamond necklace. The gem was shaped into the likeness of a rose and was hanging from a strong fine gold chain. "It couldn't hurt," he thought to himself as he pulled it off the hook.

It was expensive but he really wanted to give her something special in return. He paid for it and flew like the wind back to the room. When he got to the door he was relieved to hear the shower water still running he opened the door quietly and went into the living room and put the presents he had bought onto the couch across from him and waited for her to come out of the bathroom. After another five minutes the water was turned of and he heard the sound of the shower curtains being drawn back. He felt a slight nervous lurch as he heard the sound of her drying her hair, would she like what he got her, he was certain she would but nevertheless he still felt nervous. After another three minutes the bathroom door opened. Sonic's mind went blank. The only thing she was wearing at the moment was a white bath towel.

He didn't move as she crossed the room into the bed room. He then had an idea. He picked up her presents and carried them to the bedroom. He handed them to her and said, "I hope you like them." She looked confused, it was his birthday, he was supposed to be receiving not giving. She shut the door and Sonic went back to the living room to wait for her. In less than a minute he heard he shriek with surprise and delight. Another ten minutes later the door opened and Amy stepped into the room. Sonic's breath caught in his lungs, Amy was more beautiful then he had ever seen her. She walked over to him and kissed him before saying, "I love them Thank you so much Sonic."

She reached over to his present and handed it to him saying, "Happy Birthday Sonic, I hope you like it though its probably nowhere near as nice as this." He smiled and opened the box and pulled out what seemed to be a piece of very old parchment. He was confused and slightly let down but upon further examination of it in the light of the tableside lamp he found it to be a piece of a very old map. From what he knew of the Echidna ancient language he was able to discern three words, "Seven, Master, Emeralds."

Excitement flooded him she had just handed him something that made his next mission much easier. He turned to her and kissed her he couldn't help but jump up and punch the air after they broke apart. She sat there looking bemused as he stood there looking ecstatic. He soon managed to say, "Thank you so much Amy, this is most definitely going to help me." She looked startled and asked, "How is it going to help, what is it for?" He stopped being excited for a second wondering if he should tell her but then realized that she was now officially the closest person in his life. He decided to tell her the truth.  
It was going to be a very long night.

Tell me how I did


	4. Morning Surprises

Read and Review Please. I can't say it any more plainly than that.

Just FYI: Cream is 18 and Tails is 22 Okay now we can move along.

Chapter 4

Sunlight streamed in through the windows as a light breeze pulled at the curtains causing a light rustling as the fabric moved against itself. But Tails didn't see any of these things because he was fast asleep, oblivious to the beauty of the late summer day. But as the birds began to flutter past the open window Tails sleeping body began to stir. Slowly he opened his eyes but something most odd met his vision. It was darkness, total, complete darkness. He at first thought of blindness or that he had somehow misjudged the time but as he moved his arm to feel what it was that covered his eyes he became aware of another odd thing. His body felt strangely heavy, No, it felt in fact as if something heavy was on top of him, push him into what he guessed was the couch of his suite. He raised his hand to his eyes and something furry met his touch.

His immediate thought was of some kind of furred eye mask but as his senses and deduction caught up he realized that it was giving off heat in the chilly hours of the early morning. He followed the furry something until he reached what felt like a head. Then he remembered, Cream, she had been asleep in his bed when he came back to his room. He had decided that it was probably a kinder thing to let her sleep off her exhaustion rather than wake her and tell her to leave, she had looked so peaceful. As he felt the head to see if it was indeed hers, there came a soft moan. He knew now that it was her. Slowly he lifted the furry ear off his eyes and looked down at her and felt his mind stop. She was dressed exactly as she had been last night when he had massaged her back, shirtless with her bra strap undone to permit better access to the middle of her back. It had slid down her arms a little, obviously when she had moved to the couch last night but that wasn't the problem that faced him. Though she was covered, if she sat up then it would fall off.

Tails cursed his misfortune, Why him? What on earth had he done to have warranted his new girlfriend to be sleeping on him with her bra practically hanging off her? He tried to see some way of moving so as to be able to get out from under her when something all together worse happened. His instinctive desires had begun to work on him. In an attempt to stave of that unwanted change to his body he began to think of other things, all the while biting his bottom lip hard enough to bloody it a little. 'The trans-dimensional phase shift particle accelerant must be poured into the Photonic Hyper Chaos multi-dimensional acceleration drive in an environmental temperature of negative fifty degrees Kelvin or risk a anti matter accelerated quantum spatial detonation.' Tails thought on this furiously as his thoughts involuntarily turned to Cream again. 'Stop it' he thought savagely to himself as his body started to change.

He wasn't exactly unused to the feeling but it was the fact that it was happening while Cream of all people was with him. 'The chaos drive must be carefully maintained when activated with a total no less or greater than three hundred thousand chaotic power units every second or risk…' Cream began to stir, her arms raised over her head as she yawned, squirming closer to her comfortable pillow as she did so. Tails threw his head against the hard armrest of the couch but then realized too late that an attempt to relieve himself of his senses was a bad idea. Tiny lights burst into his eyes as the gap in his thoughts was filled with nothing but her, the smell of her fur, her laugh, and her beautiful eyes. Now he had a war on his hands. The changes to his body complete, Tails now struggled with thoughts and feelings that had sprung up in place of thoughts of her beauty. The effort of resisting started making him shudder, his teeth chattering together so loud that in the silence it sound to him like the hammering of nails. She opened her eyes, yawned and (much to Tails' despair) sat up. Her bra slid forward and Tails let out and involuntary gasp as he screwed his eyes tight shut. 'I'm dreaming. This has to be some ones perverted idea of a nightmare' but at the same time, the other half of him, that half closest to instinct was screaming in approval.

His face was burning now, in embarrassment, in anger, in despair. When she had sat up, she had sat up and remained seated on top of him. Cream suddenly gave a yip of surprise as to what had been her pillow, and then as she looked down she gave another even louder yip. Tails braced himself for the tirade of yelling or even for her to hit him, but what happened next he didn't expect. She leaned close to him and gearing up her courage, kissed him. It seemed like the only thing to do. Had he seen her exposed form or was he merely trying not to see, and anyway, he looked cute embarrassed. The kiss was the last thing he had expected and it wasn't a friendly kiss on the cheek either. She held it for a full minute before saying, 'You have been so kind to me. You were there for me and you have shown that you love me.' She lay down again with her head on his shoulder; she hadn't bothered recovering herself. As she cuddled with him he realized that he was fighting a long lost battle, a battle that had being lost from the moment she had stirred.

He put an arm around her and with the other slowly stroked her head. She looked at him and asked, 'Do you love me?' It was a rather silly question to ask but he understood the meaning behind it. She loved him, it was obvious, but he had yet to confess it, He thought it over then realized, what was there to think about? He opened his eyes and looked at her without embarrassment, without shame; viewing her form and her beauty with a gaze of pure affection. Tails knew even as the answer formed on his lips that Cream already knew the answer. 'Yes, I do love you,' whispered Tails as he moved his head closer to hers. They kissed again as a ray of sunlight broke through the window and alighted upon them. T

he moment was perfection in its purest form. No amount of science would ever be able to explain the sudden bond they had formed through words and closeness. Love was an unpredictable force, it appeared in the strangest of places and as he thought to himself why would he or anyone else want to give up this feeling that is love. He suddenly realized that his body had relaxed and was no longer burning on instincts; He smiled and rested his head on top of hers as two doves flew past the window in a graceful dance.

Three hours later,

Tails slowly opened his heavy eyes. 'I must've dozed off,' he thought to himself as the early afternoon sun shone through the no longer curtained window. He sat up, realizing as he did so that Cream had gotten up before him. He felt suddenly lonely as he surveyed the empty room. He got up and stretched, wondering vaguely as he did so, where Cream had gone. He went into the kitchen and to his surprise found her there, steadily cooking at what looked to be pancakes, toast, and something brown that he couldn't identify. He silently slipped up behind her and reached out his hands to cover her eyes. 'Not while I'm cooking Tails,' Cream said coolly as she flipped over a pancake. He simply stared at her; he hadn't made a noise so how was that she had known? He decided he worry about it later and instead asked if there was anything he could help with.

She shook her head and said, 'No thanks, I've got it covered over here you just sit down.' He didn't want to make it appear as if he wasn't sorry that she had said no; he and gas range stoves didn't like each other much. He went to the table after asking a second time and being told to sit down again. Tails sat and watched in amazement at the dexterity with which she cooked. She used one of her ears to flip a plate to the table and at the same time tossing one of the pancakes out of the pan and into the air. Tails made to catch them but to his astonishment the plate landed smoothly in front of him and the pancake on top of it. After a few more incredible acts of acrobatics the most amazing of which involved a dropped plate caught by her foot, a small fire being handled by her left hand, two serving dishes balanced perfectly on her ears, and a large pitcher of orange juice and her plate in her right hand. As he made to help her he realized something; she was showing off.

She smiled at him as she saw that he had gotten what she had been doing. She deftly smothered the fire, tossed one of the serving dishes into the air and caught it, flipped the dropped plate back onto the counter and placed her plate of food on to the table. 'How and where did you learn to do all this?' he asked her blankly. She smiled at him as she put down the rest of the items she was carrying and said, 'I worked for a year or two in a restaurant that was next to a construction site. You think you've seen fast; that was nothing, I used to have to balance two to three times as much as what you saw me handling.' Cream sat down and said, 'It's also where I learned a good deal of my cooking skills.' Tails started to eat and savored every bite, it was heavenly. The pancakes were cooked to perfection and were light as air; the toast was rich with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and a hint of mint. He looked at her as she slowly ate with her ears folded behind her head to keep them from falling into her plate, there was something missing from her beauty.

He smiled to himself as his thought of her favorite flower, the Silvermoon. She had fallen in love with this rare blossom when she had found a small glade of them. The blossoms were made of solid moonlight bound into a flower by Chaos energy. They were rare, appearing only were large concentrations of chaos energy existed. Tails smile grew slightly wider as he raised his hand behind his back, concentrating on the flower. He wondered if he would be able to summon it but as he did work with the Chaos Emeralds and their power in many of his experiments the chances of him failing to do so were slim. With a small surge of his energy and a minor flash, a Silvermoon blossom appeared in his hand. He handed the beautifully strange flower with a smile and said, 'I know that there your favorites, I just thought that you'd like one.' Her eyes grew wide as she took flower, they never grew in places like this; how had he gotten one? She lifted the glowing, crystalline clear, rose shaped flower to her nose and smelled the fragrance that she loved so much.

When Cream opened her mouth to ask how he had gotten the flower he said, 'The workings of Chaos magic have never been fully understood, but one thing I do know is that those who have used Chaos energies as Sonic, Knuckles, and I have, it leaves a faint link to a whole other realm of different uses.' She tried to understand what he meant but never having used Chaos Emeralds, she had no idea as to what he meant. She decided not to ask about it and instead slipped the flower behind her ear. After they had finished breakfast, Tails got to his feet and headed to the door, intending to go and check in on the others but stopped as head heard a light sob behind him. He turned around and to his bewilderment saw Cream standing in the middle of the room looking at picture held in her shaking right hand.

Tails quickly strode back to her and asked her what was wrong. She didn't answer but merely continued to cry at what she saw in the picture. He went around her to look at the picture in her hand and saw that it was a picture of her family. Wondering why on earth she'd be crying at this particular picture he asked, 'Why are you crying?' The last he had heard, her family was living quite happily on an island called the Floral Island, at least three hours of the coast of New Metropolis. She sobbed harder, turned around and buried her face against his chest in a hug that also knocked him over. It would have been some what comforting had it not been for her next words, 'Tails… My family has gone missing. All of them are gone and I don't know where they are and I haven't heard from them in almost a week.' Tails didn't know what to say, what with all that had happened to him today; from the uncomfortable morning surprise, to this recent revelation of Cream's, he honestly did not know what could be more shocking then what had happened so far.

He wrapped his arms around her and let her cry against him, feeling totally helpless. 'Cream… I am going to be leaving on an adventure soon. I swear to you that those whom I may meet on this quest for the seven Master Emeralds, that I will ask them if they know anything about your family. I will help you find them.' He didn't know what else to say or do but what he was sure of was that he was not going to let her stew and suffer in misery, if there was even the smallest shred of hope for her then he was happy to give it. Cream sobbed harder against him and asked in between sobs, 'Tails…What would I do if you died?' Tails looked at her, wondering if the moment of her sorrow had caused the question, he found that he already had an answer ready for her. 'If I died, the last thing I would make sure of is that my last message to you would be to tell you to look to the future and to dwell on the past only in memories.' Tails knew that it was rather depressing but she had another question for him, 'Tails… If my family is…gone; what would you do then, what would you do for me?' Cream held his gaze with her sparkling eyes; eyes that seemed to betray an inner want or desire that was masked by her sorrow.

He looked into her eyes and even though tears stung her eyes and her fur was matted from her crying, she still possessed great beauty that warmed him to his soul. 'If your family is gone,' said Tails as he gently pulled her closer to him, 'If they are truly gone, then I would become your family.' He heard those words as though he was observing the scene from afar but he realized that he meant them and that if she had despair, that he would be there to share it and ease her pain. She looked at him wonderingly and asked, 'You…You really mean that?' Tails felt as if he had a golf ball stuck in his throat but managed a small nod. He wondered what he had been thinking, he honestly didn't know what had possessed him to tell her this early in their relationship that he would become her family, or in other words marry her, if she had indeed lost her family.

What would the others think of him? Suddenly he found that he didn't care what the others thought of him, he wasn't little anymore, he'd grown up; more so in the last few minutes than any other time in his life. Cream smiled but shook her head and said, 'Tails… If the only reason that you would asked to be my husband is if my family was dead or gone then I think you'd better rethink your priorities because I will not marry anyone who asks because they feel sorry for me.' Tails gaped at her then found that he had the courage and determination to tell her what he felt. 'Cream, I love you deeply. I know that we have been seeing each other for only a short while but I want you to know that I care about what happens to you and I want you to know that I'll always be there for you.' He reached up and took the Silvermoon blossom from behind her ear and concentrated for a moment she looked at the flower and watched in amazement as it turned into a ring of pure moonlight, bound by chaos energy.

He slipped the newly made ring onto her left hand and whispered into her ear as he did so, 'I want you to know that no matter what happens, I will find you and I will always return to your side, I would marry you for the simplest of reasons, the fact that I love you.' Tears fell into her fur as she looked at the beautiful ring that glowed white in the light of the noonday sun outside the window. She reached up and stroked his face as she came close to him and she whispered to him, holding his gaze with her own tear filled eyes. She said, 'Tails, no matter what you find out about my family I want you to know that I shall be waiting for you to come home, home to your love, home to your bride.' She kissed him gently and as she did so she wondered vaguely how Amy would react. Cream found that at this moment she honestly didn't care how Amy would react; the only real thing at the moment to her was Tails.

She admired his courage in asking her, she wouldn't mind if she had to wait a year for him, she would wait. Cream rested her head on his shoulders, wondering as she did so if he'd take her with him on his adventure. All seemed at peace as the stood there in each others arms. Tails reflected that his earlier thought that the day couldn't possibly hold anymore shocking surprises had indeed been altered, the only thing that could possibly make this day more shocking would be He and Cream… 'Better not think about that.' he thought to himself as he gently pulled himself away from Cream with a soft kiss goodbye as he headed towards the door. He looked back at her as he opened the door and said to her, 'I love you, I'll be back as soon as I can.' With that he left the room and closed the door.

More to Come. Don't however stay glued to the screen. I will write more you all can coun't on that.


	5. Hello and Goodbye

Well Here's Number 5. Don't complain if I'm not accurate or if it doesn't sit well with you all. I had to drag this one out of me. Okay I've vented enough. Enjoy.

Chapter 5

The group of friends sat assembled together in the lobby of the hotel, making the final preparations for the long road ahead of them. Tails had been the last to join the group having been held up on the second floor by a cloaked stranger who had been trying to get into the generator room. Tails had spent ten minutes trying to explain to him that he was neither allowed in or was able to be in the generator room. The stranger had left without saying anything and had left Tails rather confused. A sign on the right side of the door gave every reason why only specially trained Chao technicians were permitted to enter the room. The generator room contained six Chaos Energy Reactors. Under normal circumstances this wasn't an issue but the real problem was the reactors energy came from cloned Chaos emeralds which did not produce a pure form of Chaos energy but rather an incomplete one.

When the incomplete form of Chaos energy was used by the reactors, a harmful aura is produced as a byproduct. The Chao showed the greatest potential at resisting the negative effects of the aura and were soon hired and trained as mechanics to operate and repair the delicate machinery. Tails wondered about the curious nature of the stranger all the way down the last few floors until he reached his friends in the lobby. To his surprise he found Cream and Amy with Sonic and Knuckles at the bottom of the stairs but it was Sonic and Knuckles that drew Tails' attention. Both of them had expressions of thorough irritation. Exactly what was irritating them became apparent when Amy spotted Tails and squealed, 'Congratulations!!' Tails was able to guess without to much difficulty exactly what the source of Sonic and Knuckles irritation. He assumed that Cream had come down to lobby via the elevator to say goodbye one last time and probably found Amy doing the same. She then probably had the urge to tell her best friend the good news. Amy would have squealed in delight about the good news and then would have dragged her over to Sonic to show him and to Ask why he hadn't asked her to marry him, (a question which she had used hundreds of times.)

Amy came running over to Tails and immediately began wringing his head squealing 'Congratulations' over and over again. Sonic came over to Tails and said with a slightly exasperated look on his face, 'So when exactly were you planning on telling us about your engagement? Some time after your first?' Tails glared at him and snapped back in irritation, 'Would you lay off? I had planned on telling you after we had left.' Cream, who had come up behind Amy looked hurt as she asked Tails, 'Why? Why would you wait? Don't you want our friends know about our engagement?' Tails looked at Cream and leaned in close to her to whisper, 'Mostly for Sonic's sake, wouldn't you agree?' She looked up as Amy said, 'Sonic, where's my ring?!' Sonic had a bitter look on his face as Amy tugged on his arm like a kid in a candy store. Cream giggled at Sonic's vain attempts to shake Amy off; the subject had been brought by Amy so many times that it should have become annoying to everyone, not just Sonic. As Sonic successfully managed to shake Amy off they all heard a well familiar voice from the door, 'Alright I'm here. So what seems to be the problem.'

Sonic and friends turned towards the door to see what they had expected but none could believe. A man whose round body was recognizable from miles away stood at the reception desk as the attendant looked up information on the computer. His appearance was different from what it had been the last time they had met Robotnik. He stood there with a laptop under one arm and a toolbox in the other. He wasn't wearing his customary red and black uniform, but rather a grease and oil stained lab coat, custom made jeans and black shirt. The assistant at the desk seemed to barely notice who stood before him as he said, 'Yes sir, due to the recent increase of technical problems in this sector the owners would like to have the security system checked and if possible upgraded, depending on what needs to be done and what you do to improve the systems will determine your pay.' Sonic's mind was beginning to sag under the info of what he was seeing. Every single person in the lobby seemed not to notice the fact the Dr. Robotnik had just waltzed into the lobby of a hotel. The desk clerk pointed to a door behind the stairs and said, 'Main security systems are behind that door.' Robotnik nodded and turned towards the stairs and froze. Sonic had crossed his arms and stood facing him, his face set in a determined way.

In all honesty he was confused beyond believe everything wasn't adding up. No one was screaming in terror, no one was pointing him out in alarm, no nothing. He stood there as Robotnik walked across the lobby and stood in front of Sonic. Sonic stood his ground expecting at any given moment for Roboguards to come out and start attacking. 'So... Sonic, how have you been lately?' Sonic's jaw dropped, did Dr. Ivo Robotnik just ask Sonic, his arch nemesis, how he was doing. In surprise Sonic replied, 'F...Fine, You are Dr. Robotnik aren't you?' Robotnik laughed, he knew why Sonic was confused, practically anyone who hadn't lived in New Metropolis would be confused by his change in character. It so happens that after Sonic had left him in their last encounter, he had been visited by a strange vision. As he lay amongst the ruins of his recent attempt to dominate the world, Maria had appeared to him and had spoken to him. The words she had uttered he would keep to himself except for one bit that was meant for someone else. Sonic stood there disbelieving as Robotnik went into an explanation about his change of heart, leaving out the more sensitive parts of that matter. 'And so,' Robotnik finished after an hour of talking, 'I decided to put down my evil schemes and take up the path my grandfather abandoned all those years ago. What I do isn't much but these people can see that I'm trying to make amends.' Sonic's mouth was hanging open at this point and not just his, every single one of his friends had similar looks of shock. Robotnik waited apparently to see if any of them would say anything but as the silence stretched on he cleared his throat in a business-like way and said, 'Well if you'll excuse me, I have a security system to check and upgrade and I am already running late on that.'

Sonic stood aside as Robotnik walked on towards the main security system control room. Tails continued to look after Robotnik even after he had disappeared from sight into the Security room. 'Well what do you think of that?' asked Tails as the silence continued to stretch on. Sonic shook his head, the idea that Robotnik could have changed was completely alien to him. He had spent a good bit of his life constantly fighting Robotnik and yet now he was trying to help the innocent, it just didn't seem right. Tails looked back towards the door and said, 'I think we'd be going, if we linger much longer it'll start getting dark.' Sonic began walking towards the door when Amy caught hold of his arm. He looked at her, she looked as though she wanted to say something to him but couldn't find the words to tell him. He looked into her green eyes, knowing what see wanted to say. It was the concern that she might not see him again, the worry that their love may fade as time and distance separated them, and the hopes that burned secretly inside her heart. He leaned forward and kissed her gently, not even caring that he stood in a lobby full of people. She put her arms around him as the moment stretched on for eternity, a blissful pleasure that she never wanted to end. He broke away from her and said as he gazed into her eyes, 'No matter what happens, I'll always return to you. I love you Amy Rose and that will never change.'

She let out a half sob, she didn't want him to go but she knew that she was powerless to change the fact that he had to. 'Be careful Sonic.' Amy said in a saddened way. Sonic smiled and answered in a cheeky way, 'I always do Amy, you know me I like a quite life.' She laughed as she let go of him. For so long she had longed to be his girlfriend but she had never fully realized just how wonderful it would be. But as she had always known it came at a heavy price. Now being so close to him every time he left her, it hurt more than any physical pain. He turned from her to see that see Tails and Cream were having their own emotional farewell. Cream was crying silently as Tails held her close, whispering assurances and small words of comfort. When he finally let her go she had calmed some what but as he turned away her self control broke. She wanted him close to her, to bask in the comfort of his arms to be loved and never let go. She turned him around and gave him a throughly passionate kiss. Tails face went crimson as Cream held him tight. He had kissed her before but never like this, he felt his face burning and his mind began wandering to rather inappropriate thoughts. Cream broke away when she heard someone clear their throat. She looked rather embarrassed as she said, 'Good luck Tails.' Tails just stood there in a daze, he had known that she had grown up but that was certainly some thing he had never expected from her. Kissing him like that in public.... She really needed some help in controlling he emotions lately.

Well as soon as he created a away to reverse the Robotizing process then all would be well. Come to think of it he probably could ask for Robotnik's help but he wanted to make it an effort all his own. He walked towards the door in a slight daze, thinking about ideas and thoughts on his research into reversing the robotizing process. Sonic followed with Knuckles by his side and asked, 'Tails has certainly grown up, hasn't he?' Knuckles nodded silently, he had noticed the changes Tails had made, he wasn't blind. But what he had noticed more than everything else was the feeling of emptiness that was growing in his heart. How long had he being away from home? No, he was not homesick, this much he was certain of. The recent actions of his friends... the forging of these bonds, these relationships. It was someone he missed though that was something he was going to keep to himself. 'Hey...You alright? You faded out there.' Sonic's voice cut through his preoccupation. Knuckles looked at Sonic with an unfocused gaze and said, 'Huh...Oh sorry I wasn't paying attention.' Sonic looked at him and asked, 'Homesick?' Knuckles shook his head. Sonic continued looking at him but was distracted when an explosion came from the security room. They heard a voice ringing through the lobby that they immediately recognized as Robotnik's,  
'Damn It! Who the hell was the last person to work in this room?! No wonder nothing works around here, with all this crap lying around! Huh, yeah this is great some idiot spilled a drink in the power relay! I swear, what do they expect me to do, huh, work miracles? Some of this equipment is older than I am, oh well here's the problem to most of the power issues for this system, a standard four way S7C600 power relay unit. This thing is meant for buildings no bigger than apartments, what the hell is it doing here?!'  
Robotnik carried on yelling as Sonic began shaking with silent laughter. He walked towards the door laughing silently to himself. He had forgotten about Knuckles but that suited Knuckles just fine. He was thankful for the interuption that had distracted Sonic, he didn't much feel like talking to anybody about this particular problem.

Please Tell me how I did. Review and Contstroctive Critism are welcome and are one of the Main reasons I enjoy writing.


	6. Soul Touch

Here's Chapter six. Read and let me know how I did please.

Chapter Six

_Soft was the glow of the candle light as Knuckles slid closer to the girl he loved. His heart seemed to be beating out a tattoo against his chest as the girl took his face in her hands. Her body, and eyes seemed so familiar to him. He longed more than anything to pull her close to him, embracing her warmth, feeling her hair. She kissed him and all things became increased in wonder and beauty as she moved her hands from his face to his back. He felt his face burning in the dark despite the reassuring strokes of his back by this girl. He could feel her heart beat as he pulled her closer to him, unbridled and free. He stopped kissing her long enough to whisper, 'I love you. I'll never let you go no matter what happens.' She laughed softly and spoke to him out of the darkness, 'So noble. We both felt it the day we met and we both knew that this day would come. Why hold it off any longer?' Knuckles felt the girl guiding his hands from her back to her sides as she sighed in a contended way, her longing for him no longer capable of being contained. Knuckle's lips met with hers again in a passionate kiss as all restraint feel away. He reached into the darkness for her and held her to him with all the careful strength he could muster. 'Take me my love and together we will become lost in the ecstasy of our love.' The girls words pulled at his soul, at his inner most longings but as he moved to do as she pleaded with his mind in a haze of instinct._

'Hey! Wake Up. We have to get moving again.'

Sonic's voice woke up Knuckle in alarm. Knuckles sat up in a split second, his fist flying towards the one who had woken him. He stopped as he realized that the one he was about hit was one of his friends.

Sonic looked at Knuckles, he hardly ever woke up with his fists blazing at everything around him. 'Are you alright?' Knuckles nodded slowly as he thought about the dream. That girl.... who was she? She had seemed so familiar. Sonic looked at Knuckles and asked, 'It was a girl wasn't it?' Knuckles looked at Sonic in alarm and began trying to find words to say otherwise. Sonic was able to guess from Knuckles reaction that it had been a girl but that being his business he wouldn't push the subject. 'Look Knuckles, I can guess accurately enough from the look in your eyes to know that I'm right but don't worry. I won't say another word.' Knuckles nodded again as he asked in an attempt to make sure the subject changed, 'Why did you wake me up?' Sonic looked toward the horizon, at the first signs of dawn. He and the others had stopped for the night in a remote area of the Mystic Ruins on the third day since they had left New Metropolis. They hadn't stopped for much sleep during that trip and had only stopped when fatigue caused Tails to collapse.

The area they were camping in was comfortable, with low grass and a spring nearby that was more pure than any water they had seen. The tree cover was dense and threw the area they were in into a dark twilight illuminated only by a campfire. It was on the outskirts of Mystic Ruins and had a reasonably good view of the sea through a path in the forest. They normally wouldn't have gone on with this forced march but all three of them were well aware of the danger they faced if even one additional Master Emerald fell into the hands of another. Sonic looked back at Knuckles who was still shaking slightly, he had never seen a dream about a girl produce such strange results. 'Hey Knuckles, you alright?' Knuckles jumped slightly as he focused on Sonic again, trying not to tell him of his concerns. In truth Knuckles was honestly afraid of what this dream could indicate but he felt that he could tell no one of these concerns because none but an Echidna would truly understand. Sonic decided not to push the matter and simply said, 'Look we need to get moving again I know that eight hours of sleep isn't enough to replenish three days worth but we have to keep moving.' Sonic turned to leave but Knuckles suddenly said, 'Someones coming.'

Knuckles stood up and surveyed the surroundings. They were in a remote area of the Mystic Ruins, one that only they knew about which made it ideal for resting, so the odds of someone finding them was very unlikely. But Sonic was familiar with Knuckles abilities to know when others were close. Sonic joined Knuckles in looking around for any potential enemies but after five minutes of staring silently in every direction Sonic began to relax. Knuckles on the other hand firmly believed that someone was coming. He felt it, like a nagging, pulling sensation in the back of his mind. He was also sure that he knew who it was. He took a step backwards and focused on the feeling in his mind. For a brief moment he felt as though he was flying through the air which confirmed to him who it was. He turned and looked up in the sky through the canopy of trees and saw flying down towards the clearing the one person that at this moment he was alarmed to see. '_Could it be...?'_ Knuckles looked at Rouge who was clearly recognizable even from the distance she was at. He grabbed Sonic's shoulder and said, 'Sonic, Rouge is coming.' Sonic didn't bother looking around on the ground but instead looked into the air to try to see her. Sure enough when he turned around he saw her coming towards them in a low glide, at least five hundred yards from where they stood. Sonic ran back towards Tails to wake him up while Knuckles stood his ground to face the bat.

Why was she here?  
She couldn't possibly know that the Master Emerald was gone and it was even more unlikely that she knew of the existence of the other six. Still as an expert in many fields of stealth and thievery it was a good bet that with all of her contacts that she did know something. Perhaps she could be of some use. In less than a minute she pulled up from a steep dive and landed in front of Knuckles with that smile she so often wore on her face. Knuckles didn't move as he glared at Rouge. He wondered why she was here but as he was holding the Chaos Emeralds in his hands that could be the reason why she was out here but some of the facts still didn't add up. First how would she know where to find them, second why would she have come all the way out here alone, and third how would she have known that he had the emeralds? Sonic and Tails joined him soon after she landed both with determined looks on their faces.

Sonic spoke to Rouge which saved Knuckles the trouble of talking to her. 'What are you doing here Rouge?' Rouge looked at Sonic and answered in a cool coy tone, 'Just sightseeing what about you, you guys up to anything?' Knuckles raised an eyebrow; Sightseeing, she must've had time to come up with a better response than that. Sonic likewise was unimpressed by her comeback. He answered her in an equally sarcastic tone, 'Oh us we're not doing anything we came all the way out here just to collapse from exhaustion for the fun of it.' Rouge smiled wider as she took a few steps forward as she said, 'Oh I know, leaving your loved ones behind must've been hard Tails....Sonic.' Knuckles had to stifle a laugh at the expression of his two friends at this last comment. Tails' jaw dropped and his face turned red as he wondered how much she knew. Sonic showed visible strain to keep his straight face as he responded, 'So what of it?' Rouge looked at Tails and asked in a polite tone that was so unlike her, 'So Tails, when are you planning the wedding? I hope I get an invite from you.' Tails went if possible even redder but he stood his ground as he said, 'How did you find out about that?'

Rouge laughed at this question, surely she didn't need to tell him how but she decided to humor him none the less. She looked past Tails, mentally running through the list wondering which of the names to bring forth first. 'Well first off is the maid, she came in about two hours before you woke up. The sight she told me was quite interesting.' Rouge stopped here and looked at Tail with a look of amusement at his look of shock. He somehow managed to find his voice to say, 'I swear nothing happened. I slept on the couch and when I woke up next morning she had moved to the couch as well.' Rouge nodded, she had surmised as much, many of her contacts in New Metropolis had told her of the conversations between Tails and Cream while they were on their date. She knew of Cheese's robotization and knew of Tails' desperate search to find a way of reversing it's effects. Rouge spoke to Tails, 'I know that you didn't do anything, it would've been worse f you had, my respect for you would have dropped considerably. Also I am more inclined to believe the word of a friend rather than the word of a maid who works for me because I prevented her from being busted for narcotic's smuggling.' Tails heard a lot of things in this sentence that surprised him, that she considered him to be a friend and the she respected him were most surprising of all. Tails thought for a moment and then finally said, 'Well, I'll invite you. It's the least I can do for a friend. But can you tell us why your here?'

She laughed. She understood that they were interested to know why she was there and she was rather touched that he considered her to be a friend as well. She had planned on telling them anyway but it was always entertaining to mess with them first and as she had discovered sometimes she learned some new things. When she remembered the reason why she had sought them out her laughter and happiness faded. She looked at Knuckles as she answered in a saddened way, 'I came to find you because two members of the Chaotix have disappeared. Vector and Espio, they just vanished in one day.' Knuckles felt a faint flutter of sorrow in the back of his mind which made him worry. Although two members of the agency he used to work with disappearing was certainly a cause to worry, this wasn't what worried him. It was the fact that he was feeling two sensations of being upset....His own and someone else's. Now was sure that his previous fear had been confirmed. He needed just one more conformation about it before he would truly accept it. He allowed the feeling in the back of his mind to flow freely rather than fight it as he had been and soon he felt the feelings of sorrow emanating from the very woman with whom he had been fighting with for years...From Rouge herself. '_No...It can't be. Why her?' _Knuckles stood there with a look of despair on his face as Rouge's voice came into his head as clearly as if she had spoken out loud, '_What the?! Knuckles? Why did I just here your voice in my head?' _

Knuckles didn't answer immediately because he wondered how she'd take it. More than likely it was going to be a negative reaction but sooner or later they would have to face it whether they liked or not. '_Rouge. I am not telepathic but what I have to tell you is a closely guarded secret of the Echidna. If someone with hostile intentions had ever discovered this my people would have been tormented.' _Rouge didn't respond which he took as a sign to continue. He was unsure of how to phrase it but he felt that blunt honesty would probably be the quickest way. He didn't notice Sonic attempting to get his attention. He sighed audibly before continuing, '_Among my people we have what you would call the perfect couples. These occur in Echidna clans when one individual finds his or her soul mate...the one with whom they are bound to heart and soul alike.' _Rouge was confused, this talk on the perfect romance was interesting and all but what did that...., '_Wait! Are you suggesting what I think you are? That we're one of these perfect couples?!' _Knuckles looked her straight in the eye as he said, '_It is a very rare thing but every once in awhile an Echidna forms a Soul Touch with one that is not an Echidna. It is very rare but has happened. The very fact that I am talking to you mentally says the rest Rouge. We are soul bound. Meant to be as it were.' _

Rouge took a step backwards from the group shaking her head in fear because she could feel that everything he was telling her was true. She couldn't accept it but at the same time she felt the desire to accept and revel in the feeling of closeness she felt in the knowledge that someone who cared was always with her. Sonic and Tails were both completely lost at these changes that had just happened. Never in the time that they had known both Knuckles and Rouge had they seen them looking at each other the way they were now. Knuckles had a warm soft look in his eyes that was completely at odds with what he was feeling and Rouge was gazing at Knuckles with a mixture of fear and happiness that marred her characteristic appearance. In the space of a moment Rouge made up her mind. The fight against the Soul Touch was incredibly taxing on her mind and body and in all honesty she felt curious about this mysterious bond. She let her resistance fall and felt Knuckles' spirit flow into her. It was a strange feeling but not unpleasant. She could feel his rapid adjustment to accept what had occurred. She herself felt a desire to understand more but for the moment she marveled on how much she was gleaming about Knuckles just by allowing him to be with her. She didn't need to say anything to talk to him it was like he already knew and she felt as though she already knew what his response was going to be. She learned that Knuckles had been exposed to high amounts of Chaos energy before he was born which made him far stronger than normal Echidna.

Knuckles learned that she had been born and raised an orphan but had learned later in life that her parents had given her up because they were being hunted by some of G.U.N. Mercenaries on false charges. The flow of memories and thoughts between them slowed and soon became a faint feeling of closeness that allowed only the basic communication between them. Rouge was shaking slightly but soon realized that something warm was near her. She looked up to and saw that she was in Knuckles' arms. She looked into his eyes and felt the care emanating from him and acted on instinct. Knuckles looked into her eyes as she leaned closer to him wanting nothing more than to comply but he felt that things were moving too fast. 'Rouge I don't think that now is...' She cut him off mid sentence as she kissed him fiercely. Sonic and Tails both exclaimed in shock at this. What could possibly have happened to the two of them to have caused them to do something like that? Rouge held the kiss for more than a minute before breaking away. Knuckles was dazed but and slightly upset but still he did enjoy that. Rouge felt his faint disappointment. She sighed as she said, 'Sorry but I couldn't help it. Next time I'll keep a low profile about it.' Knuckles nodded and said, 'Please do because now we have an interesting problem to solve.'

They both turned to look at Sonic and Tails who were looking at the pair of them in total shock. Knuckles cleared his throat as the silence stretched on and said, 'So... Who's hungry?' Rouge snorted and said to him, '_Way to avoid the subject Knuckles.' _Knuckles looked at her and said, '_I really don't want to discus this with them right now but it is going to happen eventually.' _Sonic couldn't comprehend this sudden change to normal and soon the question he had to ask burst from him, 'What just happened here?!  
Knuckles looked at his friend thinking wryly to himself, '_This is going to take awhile.'_

Well there it is. My sixth Chapter. I hope I did a good job. Please R&R


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